Staying on Target
by 004MOG
Summary: Eren's plan was to keep his hands off Levi, the roommate with the suave, handsome boyfriend. Unfortunately Eren's not good at following plans, but then neither is Levi. (Fic from November 2014)


Eren had a pretty straightfoward life lately. Twenty hours working at the local deli a week. Studying for five classes he didn't care about. Playing Xbox with Jean and calling home to Mikasa.

Pining after his roommate.

It wasn't something he had meant to do, or planned on. While all his friends were living with other students, or at least people their own age, Eren had ended up with Levi, a thirty-something personal trainer. When Levi had told Eren his vocation, Eren had to bite back a _You can personally train me anytime_ or some equally inappropriate comment. Not that it had been hard; Levi had an intimidating demeanor and was tough enough to bend Eren in half, he was sure of it. But that had been before Eren had gotten to know Levi, to know that he wasn't really all that scary-but unfortunately thanks to that realization, Levi had just gotten more and more under Eren's skin and that actually _was_ scary.

Scary because never before had Eren wanted anyone this badly, and scary because never before had there been anyone Eren so certainly could not have.

Erwin was his name. Tall, blond, handsome, built. Career man. Excellent cook. Smelled fantastic. Actually Eren didn't know for sure about that last one, but it was probably true. Erwin was just that perfect—all the things that Eren wasn't. Couple this with the fact that it wasn't a great idea shacking up with one's roommate to begin with—yeah, thinking about all the ways living in his own home could suddenly become miserable if the relationship went sour was almost enough to console Eren from the fact that his crush had a very serious, very steady boyfriend.

It still pissed him off.

It pissed him off when Erwin came by with wine bottles and he and Levi would spend the evening over the kitchen counter talking in hushed, gentle voices. It pissed him off when they wore matching jerseys to root for their favorite sports team when they watched the game together. It pissed him off when Erwin would flip pancakes at the stove the morning after, and Levi would come up behind him and affectionately pinch his ass. It pissed him off when Erwin kissed Levi goodbye on his way out. It pissed him off because if he could focus on being angry, he could ignore how much it hurt.

What made things even worse, was sometimes, when Eren was watching Levi (and trying not to show it)—sometimes Eren swore that Levi was watching him _back_.

Eren had been in the kitchen cooking dinner one evening, and Levi had come and asked if he needed any help. Eren had welcomed the offer, not bothering to look behind him at Levi until he turned around to go drain the taco meat and almost dropped the pan. Levi had just gotten out of the shower—his his hair was still damp, and the only thing he was wearing was black sweatpants that slung low on his hips, so that Eren could see all the skin, bone and muscle from the waist up. Levi had the can opener out and was opening the refried beans, just like Eren had requested. Eren was frozen watching Levi's hands and forearms, the way his fingers moved and his tendons flexed as he twisted the can opener. Levi had looked up, caught Eren's eyes, and asked, "What?" Holding Eren's gaze for a moment, he'd _licked his lips_ , let another beat pass, then went to throw the can lid away like nothing had happened. When he came back to open the silverware drawer and Eren was still standing there, he'd pointed to the meat pan and asked, "Weren't you going to take care of that?" Eren had drained the pan with shaking hands.

Another time, Eren had been hooking up the new Blu-Ray player to the TV. Levi had done a great job keeping all the cords tied up neatly, and there was never any dust back there either, but the fact was that Eren still needed to get on his knees and bend over to reach the power strip behind the entertainment center. It had been wintertime, that's how Eren remembered this part so vividly—his shirt had crept up his waist as he leaned over, exposing his skin to the chilly apartment air. He thought he heard a small cough behind him—when he turned around, Levi was standing there, sipping a bottled water, looking completely nonchalant, but _there_ when he hadn't been before all the same.

Scattered little moments, all of them fleeting, each one leaving Eren's head spinning and Levi ostensibly free of affect. It was maddening. Was Levi playing him for a fool? In all other things, Levi, and Erwin as well for that matter, treated Eren as an equal. Even though Eren was much younger, still in school, only with a part-time job, wet behind the ears for all intents and purposes, the two adults had never talked down to him, never hidden things from him for his own good or made him feel small. So why did it feel like Levi was carrying some secret that Eren wasn't privy to? It was driving him up the wall.

...At the same time, it was thrilling. Eren relished that thrill even though he knew he shouldn't. He imagined that that thrill meant something, even though he knew it was the wrong thing to do. And every day, Eren wished things were different. Because then, Eren wouldn't be so desperate to convince himself that this was all in his head.

Except for the night that he didn't have to.

Absolutely nothing was different from normal, really. They were both on the couch—Eren was in his spot on the far right; Levi in his on the left. Eren had had his Gen Chem textbook open for an hour and a half, and was making good progress on his stoichiometry homework in between texting Reiner, Sasha and Connie.

Eren set his pencil down on top of his textbook, then reached his arms up to the ceiling and stretched. "Finished!" he announced to the room.

"That's good," Levi said to his left, lowering his iPad to peer at Eren from behind his reading glasses. "With all of it, or just your chemistry?"

"Oh, that was the last of it," replied Eren, grinning. He twisted around in his seat to face Levi. "I'm ready to watch DVR. Can you hand me the remote?"

Levi hesitated before setting his tablet down on the coffee table, swapping it for the remote. He leaned back into the armrest, dangling the object between thumb and forefinger. "You mean this thing?"

"What else would I mean?" Eren raised an eyebrow. Levi was usually straightforward. He didn't play around like this.

"I think if you want it, you should take it."

"Okay." Eren held his hand out.

Levi didn't hand it over.

"Shouldn't you get it for yourself?" Levi lowered his eyelids.

Suddenly the air was thicker.

"Levi?"

"This is what you want, isn't it?" Was he talking about the remote?

Eren licked his lips nervously, and Levi's gaze darted to Eren's tongue for a moment before returning to his eyes.

"Are you going to come and get it, or not?"

Eren leaned over and kissed him.

Levi kissed back.

The remote was dropped, forgotten.

Eren's knees were on the couch cushion, his fingers roaming through Levi's hair. Levi's mouth nibbled enthusiastically at his own, his hands running up and down Eren's side, teasing at the edges of his shirt but never slipping under. Eren tore his hands away from Levi's hair long enough to fix that problem, grabbing Levi's and dipping them under his shirt to rest on the bare skin of his waist, tilting his head back as Levi's mouth moved from his to pepper kisses on his chin and down his throat.

No words were spoken, just soft grunts and sighs. Levi's glasses were getting in the way, so Eren pulled them off and set them on the coffee table next to his textbook. Levi nuzzled his forehead into Eren's neck and placed a kiss on his collarbone before tugging upward on Eren's shirt. Eren raised his arms, letting Levi remove the garment and once that was done, Levi immediately placed his lips back onto Eren's flesh. Eren almost jumped out of his seat when he did. Each press of Levi's mouth on his bared skin was a flash of heat that bloomed outward to the rest of his body.

They both heard the sound of the lock click, but there was no time.

Erwin, Levi's perfect, handsome boyfriend. Erwin, Levi's perfect, handsome boyfriend who'd had a key to their apartment for months now. Erwin, Levi's perfect, handsome boyfriend who'd had a key to their apartment for months now, who was at this very moment in the doorway looking upon them in a most compromising position. Eren wrapped his arms around his middle, suddenly feeling very exposed and naked.

The scene was like a western standoff. You could hear a pin drop in the apartment, and if Eren'd had to shit, his pants would definitely be soiled right now. He couldn't even look to Levi for support. The action was too shameful. Instead, he was frozen staring at Erwin, who dropped his groceries in the doorway and covered his face with his palm.

"Levi," he said, his voice breaking as he looked his boyfriend in the eyes. "I thought we agreed to seduce Eren _together_!"


End file.
